FoodFight
People
Dr. Deborah Lewison-Grant, Co-Founder, Executive Director
Deborah earned her Doctorate degree in Curriculum and Teaching from Teachers College Columbia University where she also graduated with a dual Masters in Deaf Education and English. Before teaching in several NYC public high schools, Deborah worked for the National Center for Restructuring Education Schools and Teaching (NCREST) researching and analyzing the benefits of small schools for at-risk teenagers.
Carolyn Cohen, Co-Founder
Carolyn joined the founding staff of the Institute for Collaborative Education in 1998 and played a key role in helping to transform ICE into a rigorous, competitive and sought after public middle and high school. At ICE, Carolyn served as the Head of the Humanities Department, the Director of Admissions and liaison to the Consortium of Alternative High Schools in New York City. As the Director of the Senior Internship Program, she worked with hundreds of ICE students to match, mentor, and support them through their internship experience across multiple partners throughout the city. Carolyn graduated from Brown University, holds a Masters in Education from the New School For Social Research, and recently graduated from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition where she received her Health Coach Certification from the Association for Drugless Practitioners.
Sonya Bentovich, Program Associate
Inspired by working on a farm in Argentina and being involved in several food justice projects, Sonya decided to pursue a career in food education. In addition to being a FoodFighter, she starts her Sunday mornings by running a fresh produce stand at the GreenMarket in Jackson Heights. Sonya is a graduate of the University of Rochester where she obtained a dual bachelors degree in Economics and Psychology.
Neema Bollampally, Director of Development and Communications
While working at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Neema began volunteering as a teacher at the International Center of New York. Through this experience, Neema realized her passion for using education as a tool to improve life chances and decided to pursue a career to promote food literacy. Neema is a graduate of the University of Michigan where she earned a dual degree in Economics and English, and a certified Project Management Professional.
Anna Garcia
Anna Garcia is a Managing Director with the JP Morgan Private Bank, where she focuses on managing assets for private clients, endowments & foundations. She holds an MBA from the University of Western Ontario an MA in Economics from Moscow State University, and is a CFA charter holder. Anna is a Holistic Health Counselor and graduate of IIN.
Beth Kasden, Secretary
Beth Kasden is the Director of Business Development at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, where she oversees marketing and business development for the firm’s corporate and financial restructuring practices. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Barnard College and lives in New York City.
Drew Accordino, Chairperson
Drew Accordino, MD is an attending anesthesiologist at Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow, NY. He has formerly worked for New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Hospital for Special Surgery, and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
Joe Gallitano, Treasurer
Joe currently works for Partners Group, a global private markets firm. He previously worked at Goldman Sachs and American Express, both in Chicago. His charitable work includes the Green City Market (local Chicago farmers market) and UCAN, providing education and support to youth who have suffered trauma in Chicago’s poorer communities.
Michelle Jackson
Michelle is the VP of Business Development and Strategy at Broadridge Financial Solutions. She is responsible for creating data-related services and uncovering new revenue opportunities for Broadridge’s $1.6B Investor Communications business. A Six Sigma Master Black Belt she has held senior business and operations roles with Deutsche Asset Management, Zurich Financial and other financial institutions.
Mythili Devineni
Mythili is a Principal at the Boston Consulting Group in New York, where she leads client engagements in the Media Practice. Prior to BCG, she worked at Apple. She holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, an MS in Electrical Engineering from Stanford and a BE in Electronics and Communication from Osmania University, India.
Valerie Madamba
Valerie is a lawyer specializing in FDA regulatory issues. She was previously Assistant Chief Counsel at the FDA, focusing on food labeling and safety, and an FDA Associate at Hogan Lovells US LLP in Washington, DC. She is currently a Senior Associate Director of regulatory affairs at Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation.
Yvonne Look
Yvonne Look is a lawyer with over 15 years of experience, currently serving as Assistant General Counsel at Time Warner Inc. Yvonne previously worked at both Davis and Gilbert, LLP and Cravath, Swaine and Moore, LLP in New York City.
Zahra El-Mekkawy
Zahra El-Mekkawy is a Senior Vice President at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. During her 20-plus years there, she has served as the COO of the Bank Supervision Group, and led the supervision of foreign financial institutions. She also represented the bank at the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision in Switzerland for four years. She holds a BS/BA from Boston University, and an MIA from Columbia University.
Carolyn Cohen
Co-Founder, Executive Director, FoodFight
Catherine Gund
Catherine Gund, the founder of Aubin Pictures, is an Emmy Award-nominated producer, director, writer and organizer. Her media work focuses on arts and culture, HIV/AIDS and reproductive health, and other social justice issues. Gund’s most recent project, What’s On Your Plate?, is a witty and provocative documentary about kids and food politics which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival and is accompanied by a website, curriculum and family workbook. Over the course of one year, the film follows two eleven-year-old city kids as they explore their place in the food chain. Currently in distribution to schools across the country and available for streaming on Netflix, the film was broadcast on Discovery’s Planet Green. Whole Foods and Chipotle, among others, have partnered with Aubin Pictures to organize community screenings nationwide.
Dr. David Katz
David L. Katz, MD, MPH, FACPM, FACP – President and Founder of the Turn-the-Tide Foundation - is known internationally as an authority on nutrition, weight management, and the prevention of chronic disease. He is Associate Professor (adjunct) in Public Health Practice at the Yale University School of Public Health, and the Director and founder of the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center, dedicated to chronic disease prevention. Dr. Katz has published over 100 scientific papers and chapters, and 12 books to date. Elected to the governing board of the American College of Preventive Medicine in 2001, and elected President of the Association of Teachers of Preventive Medicine in 2004, Katz has twice been recognized as one of Amercia’s top physicians. He is currently an ABC News Medical Consultant and a syndicated health/nutrition columnist to ‘O,” the Oprah Magazine.
Dr. Robert Lustig
Robert H. Lustig, MD is Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, in the Division of Endocrinology at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Lustig is a neuroendocrinologist, with basic and clinical training relative to hypothalamic development, anatomy, and function. Dr. Lustig’s research focuses on the regulation of energy balance by the central nervous system. He is currently investigating the contribution of nutritional, neural, hormonal, and genetic influences in the expression of the current obesity epidemic both in children and adults. Dr. Lustig graduated from MIT in 1976, and received his MD from Cornell University Medical College in 1980. He completed his pediatric residency at St. Louis Children’s Hospital in 1983, and his clinical fellowship at UCSF in 1984. From there, he spent six years as a research associate in neuroendocrinology at The Rockefeller University. Dr. Lustig is the past Chairman of the Ad hoc Obesity Task Force of the Lawson Wilkins Pediatric Endocrine Society, a current member of the Obesity Task Force of The Endocrine Society, a member of the Steering Committee of the International Endocrine Alliance to Combat Obesity and of the Culinary Institute of America, and a member of the Board of Directors of the American Heart Association of the Bay Area. He is the author of many articles, chapters, and reviews on childhood obesity, including the recent volume “Obesity before birth”.
Michael A. Rebell
Michael A. Rebell is the Executive Director of the Campaign for Educational Equity at Teachers College, Columbia University. He is an experienced litigator in the field of education law, and he is also Professor Law and Educational Practice at Teachers College and Columbia Law School. Rebell has received a great deal of recognition for his work in education law, and on the CFE litigation in particular. In 2003, the New York Times ran a profile of Rebell in its “Public Lives” series. He attended Harvard College as an undergraduate and subsequently served in the Peace Corps for two years in Sierra Leone. After returning from the Peace Corps, he attended Yale Law School.
Scott Stringer
A native New Yorker, Mr. Stringer is the 26th Manhattan Borough President. Since taking office at the start of 2006, he has dedicated himself to making Manhattan more affordable, livable and breathable. Stringer’s community-based approach also has succeeded in accelerating New York’s urban greening effort. The borough president has launched “Go Green” campaigns in three Manhattan neighborhoods – East Harlem, the Lower East Side, and Washington Heights – to improve residents’ health, and to serve as a model for other environmentally neglected neighborhoods. East Harlem now has new farmers’ markets, a growing number of street trees, and its own Go Green cookbook. Prior to being elected borough president, Stringer served for thirteen years in the State Assembly, where he authored legislation to protect victims of domestic violence, led the successful fight to end “empty-seat voting” in Albany, and voted against every attempt to weaken rent regulations. The New York Times credited him as having “a sterling reputation as a catalyst for reform.”
Maggie Jacobs
Maggie Jacobs is the Director of Educational Programs for the New York Public Library. In this role, she supervises support services to the New York City Department of Education and after-school and public programming throughout the branch system. Previously Ms. Jacobs was VP of Development for 50CAN: The 50-State Campaign for Achievement Now, an education advocacy organization working to close the achievement gap by reforming the public school system. Prior to this position, she worked as the Director of Youth Initiatives at the American Museum of Natural History. In this capacity, Jacobs restructured the museum’s out-of-school programming to establish a Pre-K through college science pipeline with an emphasis on attracting under-resourced youth to the sciences. Ms. Jacobs transitioned into the education sector by founding and running a comprehensive after-school program in Harlem for public middle and high school students. Prior to this, she served as an assistant district attorney at the Manhattan District Attorney’s office and spent a few years as a corporate litigator. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Harvard, and degrees in law and public policy from Columbia Law School and the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton.
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